Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Banana muffins with pecan nuts

Have you ever bought a bunch of bananas that, well, just don't taste right?

This happened to me last week. I had bought a small bunch from a local supermarket, so I could give some to our daughter and eat some as a quick afternoon snack. However, these tasted extremely bland, somewhat mushy and rather floury, and were just left hanging in the kitchen. Still, I didn't want to throw them away, so I compared some of my muffin recipes and banana bread recipes, and ended up making these banana muffins. Surprisingly, these tasted really well, so I'll keep that recipe on hand for next time I need to get rid of some bananas and want to eat some muffins.

I used pecans, but walnuts would work just as well (for the fraction of the cost)!

Mash bananas in a large bowl with a fork. Stir in the eggs.Measure flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and vanilla sugar into another bowl, stir and then add to the banana mixture together with cooled melted butter.Fold in the chopped nuts and stir until just combined - DO NOT OVER-STIR!Divide into lined medium-sized muffin cups.Bake in a pre-heated 200 C / 400 F oven for about 20 minutes, until muffins are golden brown on top and cooked.Transfer to a metal rack to cool.

Next time add some kama and/or oatmeal/bran for a little extra fiber. I also add a teaspoon of baking soda to my muffins which gives a little more lift. And a sprinkle of cardamom and/or cinnamon doesn't go astray. Warm regards from cold Tartu.